How to Create the Ultimate Backyard Fort

An outdoor play space is the warm-weather antidote to a messy house. Here’s how one Southern California family created a modern, kid-friendly retreat in their backyard

An outdoor play space is the warm-weather antidote to a messy house. Here’s how one Southern California family created a modern, kid-friendly retreat in their backyard

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Chantal Lamers

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Find your inspiration

Just as the final school bells were ringing summer last year, Southern California blogger Jessica Kraus (@houseinhabit) was working up a game plan to keep her four boys, ages 2-10, occupied for the long haul. After combing through Pinterest for inspiration, Jessica turned to her husband Mike Krause, a foreman for the pipefitters union, to transform her informal sketches into a modern backyard fort that the boys would favor over couch time.

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Make a plan

For about $300, Mike crafted the ultimate hideaway using corrugated sheet metal for a roof and rot-resistant 4-by-4-foot white redwood fencing topped off with a few coats of Thompson’s Water Sealer.

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Make it multi-task

Jessica encourages the boys to hang their artwork inside and watch movies in the fort after dark.